Hysteria joins The Cosmopolitans, Really and Hand of God for
Amazon’s highly-anticipated third pilot season, which will debut later
this year on Amazon Instant Video

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 1, 2014--
(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced it has added the hour-long
dramatic thriller Hysteria, from Amazon Studios, Universal
Television and Alcon Television Group, to its third pilot season, which
will debut later this year on Amazon Instant Video. Starring Mena
Suvari (American Beauty) as “Dr. Logan Harlen,” James
McDaniel (Orange Is The New Black) as “Carl Sapsi,” Josh
Stewart (The Dark Knight Rises) as “Ray Ratajeck,” Adan
Canto (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as “Matt Sanchez,” Laura
San Giacomo (Saving Grace) as “Grace Pelayo” and T.R.
Knight (Grey’s Anatomy) as “Carter Harlen,” Hysteria follows
a doctor (Suvari) who returns to her hometown of Austin, Texas to
investigate a growing epidemic that appears to be spreading through
social media. The show is written by Shaun
Cassidy who also serves as Executive Producer alongside Adam
Schroeder, Sharon
Hall, Andrew
Kosove, Broderick
Johnson, Bryan
Zuriff, and Director Otto
Bathurst. Customers will once again be invited to watch and provide
feedback on the pilots they want to see turned into full series, which
will then become available on Prime Instant Video.

“We’re very excited to be collaborating with Universal Television and
Alcon Television Group to bring Hysteria to life for viewers,”
said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “Shaun is known for creating
shows with layers of mystery, depth of character and topical themes. His
script immediately hooked us and we can’t wait to hear what customers
think.”

“I can think of no better platform than Amazon to tell a story that
explores the price of fear and the very real threat of viral connection
becoming contagion,” said Shaun Cassidy.

Directed by Bathurst, who recently won the BAFTA for his work on the
critically acclaimed U.K. mini-series Peaky Blinders, Hysteria takes
viewers to Austin where members of a girls’ competitive dance team are
stricken with a strange, psycho-physiological illness that manifests in
violent fits and spasms. Neurologist Logan Harlen (Suvari) is called
back to her hometown to investigate the cause. Fighting her own demons
(and the growing manipulation of a brother on death row), Logan develops
an uneasy suspicion that the hysteria surrounding the girls might
actually be linked to social media and her own tragic past. In addition
to Suvari, McDaniel, Stewart, Canto, San Giacomo and Knight, Hysteria also
stars, Ella
Rae Peck and Jenessa
Grant. Guest stars include Jason
Douglas, Heather
Kafka, Asjha
Cooper, and Evie
Thompson.

About Amazon Studios

Last year Amazon Studios launched its first two prime time series Alpha
Houseand Betas, and recently debuted its first two
children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment, as well as Creative
Galaxy from Angela Santomero, the creator of Blue’s Clues. A
third kids’ series, Annedroids, from Emmy nominated Sinking Ship
Entertainment will debut in July. Amazon Studios recently announced six
additional, original series including Chris Carter’s The After;
Michael Connelly’s Bosch; Jill Soloway’s Transparent;Mozart
in the Jungle from Paul Weitz, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman;
Wishenpoof! from Angela Santomero; and Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on
Normal Street from David Anaxagoras, as well as a second
season of Alpha House. Amazon Original Series are available
exclusively to Prime members through Prime Instant Video.

Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films
and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and
audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script and Amazon
Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make
their projects public will also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios
community.

Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and
filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com),
the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and
celebrity content.

About Amazon.com

Amazon opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided
by three principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus,
passion for invention, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click
shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon,
AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and
Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.